Cerro: Strike endangering city factory

BRISTOL -- Entering its sixth week, the United Auto Workers strike against Cerro Fabricated Products could prove fatal to the Forestville factory, a negotiator for the company said.

JACKIE MAJERUS

Published
12:00 am EDT, Sunday, October 1, 2000

"The demands that these guys are putting on the company will destroy it," said Ray Bedard, the finance manager for the Broad Street shop.

Bedard, a longtime employee who is part of the management negotiating team in dealings with the union, said the company cannot afford to pay what the workers want and still be able to do business in what he said is a highly competitive market.

"Our prices are going down all the time with our customers," Bedard said, while salaries are on the rise. "We get pinched on both ends."

But striking workers say the issue isn't money, but job security.

George Meyer, president of Local 1017 and a negotiator for the union, said his local had "one of the finest contracts" around, with language in it that protected jobs by prohibiting the company from moving machinery out and workers by giving them the right to strike on health and safety issues.

They say their primary concern is that the new parent company will close or move the factory, causing a loss of jobs.

But Bedard said the company had no intention of moving before the strike.

"Under the circumstances they're in now, there's more of a chance than there was before," Bedard said.

"That sounds like a threat to me," Meyer said. Leaving the union's preferred language in the contract won't destroy the company, Meyer said.

But Bedard said, "Job security is making profit. No company moves as long as you're making money. Those guys believe they have job security language in their contract, but they don't."

The only way to ensure job security, according to Bedard, is to work hard and make money for the company.

"In other words, be a slave," Meyer said. "They can say anytime that they're not making money. They want us to trust them completely."

The 93 union workers at the former Accurate Forging went out on strike Aug. 28 after negotiators failed to come to an agreement on a new contract.

"All but four people voted to go out on strike," said Meyer.

The strike has been anything but friendly. Strikers jeer managers as they cross the picket lines each day, and Meyer said some managers offer insults of their own as they drive through. Several times, workers have claimed that managers struck them with their vehicles as they walked the picket line.

At least three union members and one manager have been arrested by city police on minor charges relating to the strike.

Though both sides say they want to settle and a federal mediator is involved, it has been weeks since the negotiators met and no further talks are scheduled.

The strike has been hard on many workers, Meyer said. Some have told him they feared losing their homes or cars. For some of those people, he said, the strike will change their lives, and not for the better.

"We're out here for our jobs," said Meyer. "This isn't a picnic."

Meyer said he's been writing to creditors, asking for a grace period for the members of his local who are earning just $175 a week in strike pay.

More than half the strikers are age 50 or over, Meyer said. He said it would be hard for them to find a comparable job because of their age.

Despite the hardships, Meyer said, the workers aren't caving in.

"I don't see 'em weakening at all," the union president said. "They're getting stronger and stronger."

Raymond Caouette of Bristol, who has worked at the company for 27 years, said the strike is a hardship for many families, and there isn't much help available.

"The Salvation Army's one of the few ones that would help us," Caouette said.

Caouette said he called the United Way, looking for some help and was told to contact the Bristol Community Organization or the city welfare office instead.

"This is after 27 years of giving them money," Caouette said, ading that he doubted any of the workers "will give United Way a penny" after the strike is over.

Besides the Salvation Army, the Red Cross has also been of some help, Caouette said.

Though the law prohibits the strikers from soliciting money, donations are always welcome, Caouette said.

"Any little bit helps right now," said Caouette. Donations can be sent to the union hall at 247 Park St., Bristol, -- with checks made out to the United Labor Agency -- or by calling 582-8145, he said.

Bedard, who said he enjoyed good relations with many factory workers before the strike, wants it to be over. He, too, is vulnerable.

"My job is just as much in jeopardy as theirs is," Bedard said. "It's an ugly situation."

Bedard said the company could lose customers if the strike continues. He said the parts they make aren't available in any hardware store.

"These are custom made to a specific die that's held here for them," said Bedard. He said if a customer had to go elsewhere for the parts, a new die would have to be made. The process of getting parts elsewhere could take up to four months, Bedard said, and if a customer had to go through that, they might not return.

"It puts us in a very precarious situation," said Bedard. He said managers are trying to keep up with the most crucial orders, but said it isn't easy.

Meyer said he sees trucks coming in with raw materials and going out, presumably with finished products. He said he's heard stories of managers who are not used to forging getting burned. "They're having a tough time in there," said Meyer. "We're willing. We want to go back. We'll be right back in there working. We need our job protection, then we'll be all set."